Synopsis:
When Bo and Luke manage to lose Rosco, they decide to go skinny-dipping to cool off. Meanwhile, Sweetwater County’s Chief Lacey leaves a pair of pool hustlers/conmen at the county line. He destroys their crooked gambling equipment and tells them they’ll be looking at 10 years of “pounding mountains into molehills” if they ever return.
The pool hustlers soon stumble across the General, with the keys in the ignition, and make off before Bo and Luke can get out of the water. Rosco, thinking he’s back on the tail of the Duke Boys, gives chase and watches in disbelief as the General jumps straight into the pond.
Enos is quickly on the scene, and dives in to try and rescue Bo and Luke, but can only find their clothes. Assuming the worst, Rosco has to inform Boss and then Jesse that the boys are dead. Oblivious to these events, Bo and Luke try to find some clothes and make it back to the farm. Along the way they get shot at by a farmer, and ignored by Becky Mae’s mother – Luke: “A man ain’t truly been insulted till he’s stood buck-naked in front of a woman and she didn’t even notice.” When they finally make it home they find their wake in full swing.
Jesse soon spots them out of the window, and takes them to the barn for a good tongue-lashing. Before long he’s joined by Daisy and Cooter who both go a bit weak when they discover that Bo and Luke are still alive. Once everyone’s calmed down, Jesse informs the boys that Boss is trying to frame them for stealing a $20,000 antique pocket watch that once belonged to Jefferson Davis so that he can claim the insurance money. Back in town Cooter gives Luke the idea that they can scare the truth out of Rosco, and he helps them rig the General with a few gadgets and luminous paint.
Back at the Boar’s Nest, the pool hustlers tie up Daisy when she discovers them stealing Boss’s safe (containing the supposedly stolen watch). A multi-car chase ensues, and they all end up in Sweetwater County.
Commentary:
This episode really gives us a deeper look into the emotions of the main characters. Rosco seems genuinely upset when he has to break the news of Bo and Luke’s death to Uncle Jesse. The writer, Martin Roth, says that he really had to fight to keep that scene in.
Highlights:
During the chase at the start of the episode, Enos’s faulty CB gives Luke an idea, and he bets Bo $5 that he can impersonate Enos and fool Rosco. The resulting impression sounds like Sonny’s real voice was used, but it provides an early comic moment before the more serious part of the episode unfolds.
Another highlight for about 50% of viewers is that this episode has one of the longest sequences of Tom and John with their shirts off!
Trivia:
When Enos asks for help in looking for Bo and Luke in the pond, Rosco has to admit that he can’t swim.
The “luminous paint” on the General Lee is actually a General painted white, with a colorized “cloud” added to the film in post-production.
This is John Schneider’s favorite episode.
–synopsis and vidcaps by Hoss (with info from The Dukes of Hazzard Unofficial Companion).
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